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March Madness: East beats Plano, 12-11, in city showdown
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Tuesday night's Plano East-Plano Senior softball game was a wild affair.
Runs were scored in five innings, both teams overcame deficits of three runs or more and the squads combined for 29 hits before the Lady Panthers (3-0 in district) finally pulled out the 12-11 victory over the Lady Wildcats (1-2).
But that's pretty much what both teams expected.
"These Plano-Plano East games are always battles," added Karen Kalhoefer, Lady Panthers head coach. "So we knew the game was going to be like this; Plano can score runs and they don't quit, just like us. What you saw tonight was two contenders just going after each other."
For much of the night, it was Plano landing the heavier blows.
East took a 3-0 lead in the first inning (off RBIs from senior KK Stevens, junior Destiny Garza and junior Kate Newman), but soon found itself in an 8-3 hole after Plano put up two runs in the first, three in the second and three in the third. The Lady Panthers got one back in the fourth, but still faced an 8-4 deficit heading into the sixth.
"We always play this game called 21 in practice," said Ashleigh Hinshaw, East senior pitcher. "We call it that because we have 21 outs to complete the game. So even though we were down, we still had six outs left and kept our confidence up because we always believe we can come back."
The Lady Panthers would storm back with eight runs in the sixth.
Hinshaw started that rally as she was the first of 12 hitters to come to the plate. Hinshaw accounted for two hits, a run and two RBIs in a sixth inning that saw East score eight runs on five hits, two wild pitches, two hit by pitches, a walk and an error. Freshman Jessy Mammel also had a two-RBI hit in the sixth with additional RBIs from Newman and senior Sarah Morales. Morales also capped the scoring with an RBI single that put East in front, 12-8.
But Plano wasn't finished yet.
"We had been crushing the ball," Zea said. "So I told the girls, 'we're the home team and we have the last at-bat, so we can do this'"
Zea looked like she may be right as the Lady Wildcats responded by pulling to within 12-11 following a three-batter succession in which senior Ashlee Begis managed an RBI single, junior Katelyn Avery put up an RBI sacrifice fly and freshman Jade Miller blasted an RBI triple to right centerfield.
That remained the score in the bottom of the seventh.
There, Plano had one out and one on with seniors Julia Knight and Calli Irvin, who had already combined for five hits, coming to the plate. Hinshaw finished the game off though with a force out at second base and strikeout for the win.
"You don't want to say this was the most important game for us," Hinshaw said. "But it was still extremely important because it was Plano and that's our big rival."
Tuesday's victory continued a comeback trend for East, which fought back from a 6-0 deficit March 11 to defeat McKinney, 9-8.
"I told the girls, 'y'all are giving me gray hair'" Kalhoefer said. "But I will say I am extremely proud of these girls. They don't get down on each other after mistakes; they always play for each other and they never quit."
East remains on the road at 7 p.m. Friday versus McKinney Boyd while Plano will travel to face West at the same time.
"Maybe if we would have had just one more inning," Zea said. "But these girls are resilient, they know we were right there and now we have to gear up to play West."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @OThankKevin on Twitter.
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